Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1887-02-03
Wazeette.
THURSDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 3.
The New Code.

For two years past ex.Judge Waller R..
Staples, ex-Judge E. c. Burks, and John W..
Rely, esq, have been engaged, according
to act of Assembly, in revising the Code OF
Virginia. The last such work was ia 1913.
Since then there have been two coditica-
tons of the laws, but no general and sys-
tematic revision. The work is very la
borious in view of the changes that have
taken place il Virginia in the system OF
COUNTY and city government, and IN the
manner Of doing public and private busl-
ness.
The reyisers are to put the laws in the
shape that they should be in without max
ing any radical changes in cur practice
Their Code goes to the General Assembly,
and will be adopted section by section ana
chapter By chapter. The General Assembly
will slnc1 d it as they please.
Tie labor OF the revisers is TO make plain
what ia obscure. TO reduce reGuadancies, to
harmonic conflicting acts aud to group
together Kindred subjects. The material
out of which they have to carve the new
Code is the Code of 1878, a book Of nearly
600 pages, and some twelve or thirteen
volumes Of the Acts of Assembly.
Many of the laws as passed are income
rent; many lv in the face OF other laws;
many are already covered by existing legis
latOn.
From all these the revisers must select
their material and shape It to suit the times,
the people, and the Legislature. Ihey
want TO make book that will be valuable
to the Judge, to the lawyer, to the justice, to
the business man and private citizen.
The special laws of Virginia give the re-
visers much trouble. Different circuit courts
have Jurisdictions Of different character as
TO certain matters. Boards of supervisors
in one county have authority not conferred
on other boards. There are special game,
fish, fence and other laws-laws that ope-
rnte in one county and not in another IN
fact, that operate sometimes IN one part OF II
county and not in another. 10 manage
these requires almost boundless ingenuity
and patience.
The revisers have been at work about two
years They have had very little help. The
members OF the bar, with rare exceptions,
have given very little assistance. So, al.
most unaided, the revisers have attacked
the great labor before them, ard now they
begin 10 see the end.
When the revision is ready the revisers
have to write out their report-a paper that
will be published page for page along with
the revision and explain the reasons for all
changes made.
By striking out great deal of matter,
which has no proper place in code, and
by ccndensing that retained, the revlsers
will no doubt be able to reduce the bulk
very greatly Then if the Legislature or
ders the new Code to be printed in modern
lied style, it will come within the limits
of volume of the size of the Code Of 1860.
While the chapters, captions, ETC., will be
retained, the revisers, it is understood, will
adopt the system now in almost universal
Use of numbering the sections continuously
from one upwards.
After the Legislature has acted upon the
Code-after it has left its hands-the revi-
sers have months of work TO doin preparing
the marginal notes-that is, references to
cases decided in the highest courts Then
there is the index 1t is one of the most
difficult of tasks, and in this respect, if in no
other, the Code of 1875 was deficient.